Railroad-spike.



PATENTED APR. 3, 1906.

C. M. KERR.

RAILROAD SPIKE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.19, 1905.

UNITED STATES CHARLES M. KERR, OF IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 3, 1906.

Application filed. AprillQ, 1905. Serial No. 256.347.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it .known that I, CHARLES M. KERR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Idaho Falls, in the county of Bingham, State of Idaho, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Spikes; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to s ikes, and has for one of its objects toprovi e a simple, inexpensive, durable, and efficient spike forpositively locking the spike in position with a tie and rail or otherelements.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a spikewherein a pivoted locking member is associated therewith.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a spike having apivoted member working within the shank portion thereof with an exertingmeans contacting with the said member.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the s irit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the present invention.

In the drawings, Fi ure 1 is a side elevation of the spike, part y insection, showing the position of the locking member when the spike isnot in use. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the position ofthe pawl when the spike is driven home.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, thereference character 1 designates the body or shank portion of the spikehaving its lower front and rear walls converging, as at 2 and 3, to asharp edge 4 with its upper end provided with a head 5, from which andover the front face 2 projects a lip 6, having its under face beveled,as shown.

Formed in the rear of the shank or body portion 1, immediately beneaththe head 5, is a recess 9, whose upper and lower walls 10 and 1 1,respectively, are parallel one with the other, the upper wall 10 beingof greater length than the lower wall 11, the rear wall 12 of the'recessbeing inclined upwardly, as shown.

Piercing the sides of the shank 1, midway of the front and rear of therecess 9 and nearer the bottom than the top thereof, is a fixed pin 13,upon which is pivotally mounted a dog or ot or member 14, having a hook15 at its lower end,with its upper end bent upwardly and forwardly,forming a head 16, whose back is rovided with a notch 17 for thereception 0 the free end of one leaf 18 of a V-sha ed spring, whoseother leaf 19 is of greater ength and has its free end engaged in theupper rear corner of the recess 9, as clearly shown in the drawings. Itwill be observed that while the upper edge of the head portion 16 of thedog 14 is curved from front to rear the forward end thereof is notpointed; but the under face of the hook por- 'tion 15 is curved upwardlytoward the upper edge thereof, terminating in a point or sharp edge 17By reason of the V-shaped spring contacting with the upper end of thedog 14, as set forth, the lower end of the latter is held normallywithin the recess when the spike is not in use, the upper end thereofbeing thrown outwardly from the recess by the normal action of the saidspring. The dog or other member 14 continues in this position and doesnot move when the spike is being driven into the tie or the like untilthe last two or three blows of the hammer upon the head of the spike. Inother words, when the spike has been driven nearly home the underforward face 20 of the head portion of the dog 14 being brought intocontact with the upper surface of the tie is gradually forced inwardlyinto the recess, the dog moving upon its pivot 13 against the action ofspring, causing the lower hooked end of the dog to be thrown outwardlyfrom the recess and bite into the tie beneath the surface thereof. Itwill thus be seen that as the lip 6 of the head 5 of the spike is aboutto engage over the flange of the rail the sharp edge or pointed end ofthe hook begins to bite into the interior of the tie or the like andthat by the time the lip is seated the hooked end of the dog has takensuch engagement with the tie as to positively prevent accidentalwithdrawal of the spike therefrom.

' What is claimed is 1. A spike having a recess formed in onelongitudinal face thereof, a dog pivoted in said recess with its upperend normally pro jecting therefrom, and its lower end normally withinthe recess, said lower end of the dog terminating in anoutwardly-directed hook, and a spring arranged to hold the dog yieldablyin normal position, said dog bein pivotally movable to throw its hook enfrom the recess when subjected to pressure against the end face of itsupper normally projected end.

2. A spike having its shank provided with a recess, a dog pivotallymounted in the recess and, having a hook at its lower end and a head atits upper end, the rear of the dog having a notch formed thereinimmediately beneath its head portion, and a spring con- 15 tacting withthe said notch and the rear Wall of the recess to hold the upper end ofthe dog normally out of the recess with the end of the latter therein.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature 20 in presence of twoWitnesses.

CHARLES M. KERR.

Witnesses:

E. M. HOLDEN, THos. KERR.

